Even while on sidelines, Mbodj impresses at UC

Nov. 6, 2011

Cheikh Mbodj cheers his teammates during last week's exhibition game against McGill. / The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

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The University of Cincinnati Bearcats were running up and down the Fifth Third Arena court executing a routine drill at the beginning of practice.

Cheikh Mbodj, the Bearcats' 6-foot-10, 245-pound center from Dakar, Senegal, was there with his new teammates, but he was running with a limp, still not fully recovered from a sprained right ankle he suffered on the first day of practice.

Mbodj hasn't been healthy enough yet to display his full range of skills, but he has already impressed the UC coaching staff with his attitude, work ethic and receptiveness to coaching.

"He's a kid you don't worry about," said associate head coach Larry Davis. "He's going to be in class on time and he's going to be at practice on time. He thanks you for everything. If you see him in the hall and say, 'Hi,' he thanks you for talking to him."

UC head coach Mick Cronin calls Mbodj, a junior transfer from Grayson County (Tex.) College, this year's most important recruit and says he has never coached a player with a better attitude. In fact, he says he has never met anyone in sports or out with a better attitude.

Cronin is counting heavily on Mbodj to fortify the Bearcats' front line this season, but Mbodj's ankle has been slow to heal. He was on the bench in street clothes during UC's exhibition game last Tuesday wearing a protective boot.

The UC coach says he will not let Mbodj play until his ankle has fully healed, no matter how long it takes.

Mbodj can play either forward or center, alongside Yancy Gates or in relief of him. He has the ability to knock down a mid-range jump shot and drive to the basket.

"He's going to give us immediate punch," Cronin said.

Mbodj is a product of the SEEDS Academy in Senegal, a school for academics and basketball that routinely sends players to U.S. colleges. Like most Senegalese athletes, he grew up as a soccer player, but started playing basketball at 10, younger than most of his countrymen.

"I was living by the basketball court," Mbodj said. "Me and my friends used to go there and have some contests. If we didn't have soccer practice, we would go there and shoot and learn how to play. I wasn't good at it right away, but I just liked it. I liked playing it and learning it."

Mbodj was discovered by Amadou Gallo Fall, then director of player personnel and vice president of international affairs for the NBA Dallas Mavericks, who founded the academy in 2003.

"I was just playing and playing," Mbodj said. "I didn't have means, like basketball shoes. I was at this camp working out. Gallo was walking past and he looked at me and said, 'Where do you live, kid?' I said, 'I just live close to here.' He said, 'I have a school.' I didn't know who he was. He just told me, 'I have this school and I would like to get you into my school.'

"He always tells us to use basketball to get an education," Mbodj said. "He's got a lot of connections. He's good friends with Coach Mick Cronin."

Mbodj, 24, played for two years under Patrick Rafferty at Grayson County, where he averaged 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots last season and was named North Texas Junior College Athletic Association co-player of the year.

"He had the good fortune of playing for a very good junior college coach, who was very demanding and very detail-oriented," Associate Coach Larry Davis said. "Unlike a lot of typical Africans who come here, he really developed a back-to-the-basket game first and he has an excellent touch as well."

When he arrived in the U. S. in 2009, Mbodj did not speak English except to say, "Hello, how are you doing?" But he has worked on learning the language and now speaks it fluently, along with French and his native Wolof, the language of the largest ethnic group in Senegal.

The oldest of seven siblings, being so far from home has been difficult for Mbodj, who is very close to his parents and keeps in touch with his family on Skype.

When his father had his leg amputated six months ago, Mbodj was distraught.

"My father is my best friend," Mbodj said. "One day he got sick. When they took him to the doctor, the doctor diagnosed him with some type of diabetes. They said the only way they could save him was to amputate his leg.

"That's one of the things that goes into being a foreign student. When something like that happens back home, it really hurts. When I went home about three months ago, I hadn't seen him for like three years. It really hurts. I got real emotional, but he's a strong man."

Mbodj is a friend of Ibrahima Thomas, another Senegal product who played for UC the last two years. But Mbodj is physically stronger than Thomas and, according to Davis, has more polished offensive skills. In some ways, Thomasblazed the path for Mbodj at UC and advised him on what to expect.

"He just told me it's a lot of fun," Mbodj said. "He told me people will take you as a family over here. He told me people like playing hard. They like winning. He said Coach Cronin is all about winning. He will help you and he's a great guy."